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New monsterspace and brand new monster line!

Hello friends and fans! Once again, it's been quite some time since our last post but with good reason...

Hooray for 2012!

Firstly, we made it through another hectic holiday season with most of our sanity (and hair!)! Hooray!!!  Thank you so much to all of our amazing customers who supported us for the 2012 holiday season, SO many monster goodies unwrapped and getting comfy in their new homes.

New Monsterspace!

Secondly, after 5 years of living and working in the same space where the monsters were first born... we've moved!  We were quickly outgrowing the 2 bedroom apartment where all the magic happened, the monsters and I were tripping over each other's feet on a daily basis and despite their best efforts, their fur found it's way in my coffee every morning... The monsters now have an entire 3 rooms to themselves!  I know, they're spoiled... We're no longer tripping over each other and my coffee (so far) has been fluff free!  This means we'll have more space for making magic (aka, monsters!), more space for more inventory, and room for some helping hands and/or employees!  We're super excited to have a fresh start to 2013, it's going to be a great year!  Here are a few glimpses at the new monsterspace...

And last but not least...

New Monster Line!

Meet The Grumpsters!  The brand new addition to our Cutesy line!  They're a little bit grumpy and a little bit hipster but still just as loveable as ever!

It's been so much fun picking out their little outfits with their flannel shirts, leggings, and skinny jeans!  We're really excited to be adding this new series to our line of furry friends this year!  They are available over at our Etsy shop now! Now go!

Follow the monsters on their holiday adventures!

We've been hard at work gearing up for this year's holiday rush. We're very excited to be doing 2 brand new shows for us this year and to be returning to some of our favorites. So here's the list of where you can find us for the holidays, and of course, don't forget to visit us online if you don't live in any of the cities we'll be traveling to!

1.) Unglued - Fargo, ND

We're excited to have some fuzzy goods in Unglued's permanent shop this year after participating last year in their pop-up shop!

2.) SPACE Monstrose - Houston, TX

The amazing owners behind this awesome shop are so great to work with year round and have a hard time keeping our monster hoodies in stock! If you're in the Houston area stop in and say hi!

3.) Craftland - Providence, RI

We'll be at Craftland's month long market this year!

4.) Bazaart - Baltimore, MD

Bazaart is one of our favorite holiday shows and it's THIS weeking, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. What better a way to show your appreciation for shopping small than to visit all of the amazing artists at the American Visionary Art Museum this year!

5.) Urban Craft Uprising - Seattle, WA

We're super excited to be heading out to Seattle for Urban Craft Uprising for the first time! We had a blast this summer at West Seattle Summer Fest and can't wait to see what excitement Seattle brings for the holidays.

6.) Crafty Wonderland - Portland, OR

We're very excited to be doing our first EVER show in Portland, OR. The monsters just CAN'T wait!

7.) Handmade Arcade - Pittsburgh, PA

And last but certainly not least, we'll be returning to one of our favorite holiday markets, Handmade Arcade. Can't wait to see all of you amazing Pittsburgh monster lovers!

If you can't make it to see us in person we'll be happy to do any custom orders for you that we can. Please try to get your orders in early so we don't get too backed up! Our little fingers can only sew so fast and the monsters are quite clumsy when they attempt to help... :)

Hurricane Sandy, monsters, and what we can do to help...

Hello friends and fans of the monsters! It's been a long time since our last post but this one is an important one for us.

As many of you may or may not know, the monsters and I are born and bred in New Jersey. As New Jersey residents, our hearts are heavy for those people who have lost so much in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and the surrounding areas. I feel more than fortunate that the worst for me was having to weather the storm stitching monsters by lantern light..

While our family and closest friends are thankfully all safe and sound, many, many, people were not as lucky. I grew up nearly every summer on Long Beach Island finding many small and large adventures to lose myself in... chasing seagulls on the beach, hopping rocks at Barnegat Light, burying myself in the sand because no one else would... Ok, and I still may do those things now...

My mom and I, just a few months ago, decided to take a drive down the coast from my best friend's house in Long Branch, NJ to stop in some of the towns along the way and to see my mom's old stomping grounds. I've heard many a story of her childhood days spent romping around the Asbury Park area at her Aunt's house. I knew taking a trip down memory lane would be a fun thing to do and something we hadn't done in a while. Somewhat typical of adventures with my mom (love you mom!), we got lost more than a few times, turning down dead end streets, sometimes heading in the opposite direction then where we needed to go. And as I was watching some of the aftermath footage from these towns we drove through, some that seem to have lost everything, I remembered getting a little annoyed at my mom for her driving antics. And despite my complaints she just kept saying, "Just look around you. It's so beautiful here. I want you to see all these neat houses." And don't get me wrong, I did. I did appreciate all of the houses and the little adventure my mom was taking me on but maybe not as much as I should have. Maybe I should have complained one less time about the 10th dead end street we turned down and just appreciated the ride for what it was. But in the end, I'm more than glad we took that trip when we did. And I'm happy knowing that someday I'll be able to take my kids on that very drive and explain to them all that it's been through and how beautifully it's been rebuilt (likely all while they're giving me disapproving looks for my wayward driving...).

Ok, ok so what is all this rambling about?? Hmm?

Here in the monster warehouse, we want to help as best we can. Because we can't be there physically to lend our two hands, we're selling these T-shirts to raise money for disaster relief. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to The American Red Cross and The Alliance for a Living Ocean located on Long Beach Island, NJ.

$15, 100% donated

They are adult sizes S-XL. And we have limited toddler sizes in the bunny design. Please leave a comment or email dkoss2@gmail.com with your size and design preference and we can see what we have in stock.

If you don't need or want a t-shirt, please consider donating directly. Every little bit counts and even the smallest amount can make a difference. And a HUGE thank you to everyone who's already helped by purchasing T-shirts and sharing this information via Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Together, let's help rebuild what so many of us have grown to know and love so deeply.

Forever Yours,

Your Friendly Neighborhood NJ Monster Maker

Updates from the Monster world!

We're off to an awesome start this year as the summer of monsters rolls in. We had a blast at our first and favorite local shows of the season, Art Star Craft Bazaar here in the good old City of Brotherly Love. It's always such a great time setting up in the city where both myself (monster maker) and monsters were born! The girls from Art Star put on such an amazing show and their volunteers are simply the best... the BEST! It's always so awesome to start the year out with such great customers and fellow vendors! Here are a few photos from the weekend...

Next up we joined some awesome artists in Baltimore for the Sideshows Market at the American Visionary Art Museum. It was a gorgeous day, the weather couldn't have been more perfect and we had so much fun in our home away from home in Baltimore. The American Visionary Art Museum is a great museum and I can't think of anywhere I'd rather have spent such a beautiful day hanging out with monsters and awesome people. Baltimore always leaves us feeling so loved!

We're also really excited to be a part of The Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts Alternatives Museum shop special exhibition, Featured Creatures. The monsters will have a special display up until August 1st, so if you're in the Wilmington, DE area go check it out!

Last but not least we'll be headed back into Philly for InLiquid's Art for the Cash Poor. We'll be inside both Saturday and Sunday so come by and say hi!

Don't forget to keep an eye on our tumblr monsters that walk and talk. to keep up on the monster mascot's shenanigans!

We've also got come brand new and very exciting products coming out within the next couple of weeks so be sure to follow us on twitter and facebook to keep up to date on when they'll be available and some possible sneak peeks!

A new year for the monsters!

It's been rather quiet here at Cutesy but not Cutesy headquarters as we've been enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation after the hectic holiday season. With the love and support from monster lovers all over the globe, we were able to make it our most successful year yet! We've got a few new things in the works for the upcoming months as well as planning our schedule of our whereabouts this year, so hang tight, this year will be as awesome as ever!

In the mean time, here's an amazing video I received this morning from a customer of a very excited monster lover on Christmas morning.

An Open Letter to USPS and its valued customers

As the holidays grow near, I am finding myself at the local post office, waiting in line with a large Santa-like sac full of packages to be shipped to various parts of the country (and the world) on a daily basis. As a small business owner running my own plush toy company during the holidays, this is a routine that has grown all too familiar to me over the course of the last 4 years.

I'm a regular at the post office. I'm there nearly once or twice a week all year long and make a daily schlep during the months of November and December. All of the workers at the post office know me by name and they recognize my packages as they come through with my quirky bunny drawing on each of them. Their faces light up when they see I'm next in line. A friendly face! A smile! I think I brighten their days and they brighten mine.

With all of that being said, it's disconcerting to stand in line with my fellow small-towners during the holiday season and to hear them complain incessantly about the long lines, the customer service, the lack of stamps, the lack of employees, etc, etc. People so impatient that they can't even wait 20 minutes or less to ship their dearest niece or nephew that brand new shiny toy so that he or she may open it on Christmas morning. What have we come to as a society when during the time of year that we're supposed to be bringing joy and cheer to everyone around us, all anyone can do is complain, impatiently check their watches, and threaten to never use USPS again?

Anybody who knows me in person or even online, for that matter, knows that I've never been one for confrontation. I make monsters for a living for crying out loud! How angry can I get, right? But recently I have been on the verge of standing up on a makeshift pedestal, monster in hand, in the middle of the long line at the post office (somewhat reminiscent of one of Charlie Brown's notorious monologues) and proclaiming my utmost gratitude to the USPS and most importantly the workers who have (probably unknowingly) helped me to grow my business to what it is today. As a regular customer I can honestly and without a doubt say that the USPS has never lost one of my packages in the hundreds, dare I say thousands, that I have shipped over the years. In fact, I've thought about moving many times but cringed at the thought about having to leave MY post office and MY postal worker friends. I can't believe the disrespect I have encountered this holiday season from customers to their postal workers. Treating them as if they make the rules, they're robots, or they're single-handedly out to make sure YOUR package does not arrive safely and on time. Forget the fact that they may even be humans with real feelings and emotions, have families to feed, mortgages to pay, elderly parents to take care of and so on. They're people just like you and I trying to do their job to the best of their ability and thankful every day that they even have a job in this economy. (Cue Charlie Brown music) Have people completely forgotten what the holidays are all about? Is it possible that people just don't know how to be human anymore?

With the threat of lots of changes looming over the US Postal Service, I ask you to remember small businesses like mine who depend on the USPS to get your furry little orders to you in a timely manner. Remember that the USPS, as frustrating as it may be to you at times, keeps so many small businesses alive and growing. So next time you threaten your postal worker with never coming back to USPS and taking "your business" elsewhere, remember me, my little pedestal, monster in hand, and the slow Charlie Brown music, proclaiming thanks to the USPS and its workers who make my days just a little brighter. And as the holidays grow nearer and the lines get longer, please remember that they're humans just like you and I, their job isn't easy, and a smile on your face will most definitely bring a smile to theirs.

So thank you Haddonfield, NJ Post Office and all postal workers around the country for helping me to deliver so many gifts to delighted customers all year long.

Warm, fuzzy wishes for a safe and happy holiday season to all!


Sincerely yours,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Monster Maker